High Roller: Justin Saliba Eliminated in 23rd Place by Vikenty Shegal

$25,500 High Roller (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 12:  4,000/8,000 with a 8,000 ante
Players Remaining:  21 of 102

Justin Saliba
Justin Saliba

Justin Saliba raised from middle position to 16,000, Vikenty Shegal called from the button, and Stephen Song reraised from the small blind to 75,000.

Saliba moved all in for about 400,000, and Shegal tanked for a long time before he five-bet all in over the top for about 485,000. Song thought for a while before he folded.

Saliba showed AhKd, and he needed to improve to stay alive against Shegal’s 10h10d.

The board came Qc9s7c7s6d, and the pocket tens held up for Shegal to win the pot and eliminate Saliba in 23rd place.

Song claimed he folded “ace-queen of spades,” which would have beaten both hands.

Vikenty Shegal  –  980,000  (123 bb)
Justin Saliba  –  Eliminated in 23rd Place

A short while later, Leonard Maue was also eliminated.

Leonard Maue  –  Eliminated in 22nd Place

With 21 players remaining from a field of 102, the average chip stack is about 486,000 (61 big blinds). The final 14 players will finish in the money, guaranteed at least $57,945 each.

Action is scheduled to continue tonight until there are nine players remaining for tomorrow’s final table.

High Roller: Jonathan Jaffe Eliminated in 24th Place by Raul Martinez

$25,500 High Roller (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 12:  4,000/8,000 with a 8,000 ante
Players Remaining:  23 of 102

Raul Martinez
Raul Martinez

Jonathan Jaffe moved all in under the gun for 35,000, Raul Martinez called from the small blind, and Adam Hendrix called from the big blind. Any further betting would create a side pot between Martinez and Hendrix.

The flop came 8d7s4d, Martinez bet 30,000, and Hendrix folded.

Jaffe showed Kd4c for a pair of fours, but Martinez turned over Ah4s for a pair of fours with a higher kicker. Jaffe needed to improve to stay alive.

The turn card was the Ac, the river card was the Jd, and Martinez won the pot with two pair, aces and fours, to eliminate Jaffe in 24th place.

Raul Martinez  –  570,000  (71 bb)
Jonathan Jaffe  –  Eliminated in 24th Place

With 23 players remaining from a field of 102, the average chip stack is about 443,000 (55 big blinds). The final 14 players will finish in the money, guaranteed at least $57,945 each.

Action is scheduled to continue tonight until there are nine players remaining for tomorrow’s final table.

High Roller: Jerry Wong Eliminated in 32nd Place by Ali Imsirovic

$25,500 High Roller (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 12:  4,000/8,000 with a 8,000 ante
Players Remaining:  29 of 102

Ali Imsirovic
Ali Imsirovic

Jerry Wong moved all in from the hijack for 83,000, and Ali Imsirovic called from the big blind with Ad5d.

Wong turned over Ac10c, and he was a dominant favorite to double up.

But the board came QsJs9sJh5h — Wong flopped an open-ended straight draw, but Imsirovic paired his five on the river to win the pot and eliminate Wong in 32nd place.

Ali Imsirovic  –  900,000  (113 bb)
Jerry Wong  –  Eliminated in 32nd place

A few other recent eliminations:

Erik Seidel  –  Eliminated in 31st Place
Lazaro Hernandez  –  Eliminated in 30th Place

With 29 players remaining from a field of 102, the average chip stack is about 352,000 (44 big blinds). The final 14 players will finish in the money, guaranteed at least $57,945 each.

Action is scheduled to continue tonight until there are nine players remaining for tomorrow’s final table.

High Roller: Thomas Boivin Eliminated in 33rd Place by Vikenty Shegal

$25,500 High Roller (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 11:  3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 ante
Players Remaining:  32 of 102

Vikenty Shegal
Vikenty Shegal

Thomas Boivin got it all in for about 40,000 with Ad2d, and he needed to improve to stay alive against Vikenty Shegal’s 5s5c.

The board came Qd9d2s4h7h, and Boivin paired his deuce on the flop, but improved no further. Shegal won the pot with his pocket fives to eliminate Boivin in 33rd place.

Vikenty Shegal  –  570,000  (95 bb)
Thomas Boivin  –  Eliminated in 33rd Place

With 32 players remaining from a field of 102, the average chip stack is about 319,000 (53 big blinds). The final 14 players will finish in the money, guaranteed at least $57,945 each.

Action is scheduled to continue tonight until there are nine players remaining for tomorrow’s final table.

High Roller: Prize Pool and Payouts with $695,355 Up Top

2021 Seminole Hard Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 26
$25,500 High Roller (Re-Entry)
$1 Million Guaranteed
Entries:  102
Prize Pool:  $2,519,400
November 29-30, 2021

Registration closed for the $25,500 High Roller, and with 102 entries, the field more than doubled the $1 million guarantee, creating a prizepool worth $2,519,400.

The final 14 players will finish in the money, guaranteed at least $57,945 each, and they will burst the Money Bubble tonight as they play down to the final table.

Here are the payouts:

1st:  $695,355 + RRPO trophy
2nd:  $503,880
3rd:  $314,925
4th:  $216,670
5th:  $141,085
6th:  $103,295
7th:  $85,660
8th:  $73,065
9th:  $70,540
10th:  $68,025
11th:  $65,505
12th:  $62,985
13th:  $60,465
14th:  $57,945

High Roller: Martin Zamani Wins a Four-Bet Pot with Ace High

$25,500 High Roller (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 10:  3,000/5,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining:  35 of 102

Martin Zamani
Martin Zamani

Giuseppe Iadisernia limped from UTG+1 for 5,000, Stephen Song raised from the hijack to 15,000, Philip Shing reraised from the cutoff to 40,000, and Martin Zamani four-bet it from the small blind to 78,000.

Iadisernia and Song both quickly folded, and Shing thought for a while before he called.

The flop came Jd9h3d, Zamani bet 20,000, and Shing called.

The turn card was the 6h, and both players checked.

The river card was the 4c, Zamani checked, and Shing thought for a while before he checked behind.

Zamani quickly turned over Ah8c for ace high and said, “I was going to call.”

Shing said, “I guess it’s good I didn’t bet,” and then he mucked his cards. Zamani won the pot with his ace high.

Martin Zamani  –  595,000  (119 bb)
Philip Shing  –  255,000  (51 bb)

With 35 players remaining from a field of 102, the average chip stack is about 291,000 (58 big blinds). Action is scheduled to continue tonight until there are nine players remaining for tomorrow’s final table.

High Roller: Andrew Esposito Eliminated in 38th Place by Anton Wigg

$25,500 High Roller (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 10:  3,000/5,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining:  37 of 102

Erik Wigg
Anton Wigg

Andrew Esposito got it all in blind from the big blind for 19,000 against Anton Wigg in middle position.

Esposito blindly turned over his cards, and was shocked to see a surprisingly strong hand — JsJc.

But Wigg showed KhKd, and Esposito needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came 7d5d5hKc9s, and Wigg turned an unnecessary full house to win the pot and eliminate Esposito in 38th place.

Anton Wigg  –  274,000  (55 bb)
Andrew Esposito  –  Eliminated in 38th Place

With 37 players remaining from an unofficial field of 102, the average chip stack is about 275,000 (55 big blinds). Action is scheduled to continue tonight until there are nine players remaining for tomorrow’s final table.

High Roller: Seven Players Entered/Re-Entered During Dinner Break

$25,500 High Roller (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 10:  3,000/5,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining:  38 of 102

For the record, there were seven players who entered or re-entered the tournament during the dinner break for max late registration:

Landon Tice, Joe McKeehen, Chad Eveslage, Giuseppe Iadisernia, Anthony Hu, Rok Gostisa, and Ben Miner.

These seven entries bumped the field up to an unofficial number of 102 entries, which would mean a prizepool a little higher than $2.5 million.

High Roller: Back From Dinner; Registration Closed

$25,500 High Roller (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 10:  3,000/5,000 with a 5,000 ante
Entries:  101

High Roller Field

The players return from dinner to begin Level 10, with increased blinds of 3,000-5,000 and a big blind ante of 5,000.

Registration is now closed, and the tournament clock shows 101 entries. As soon as we get confirmation of the numbers and the prizepool, we will post it here in the updates.

Action is scheduled to continue tonight until there are nine players remaining for tomorrow’s final table.

High Roller: Barry Hutter Leads the Field at Dinner with 985,000; Play Resumes at 8:03 pm

$25,500 High Roller (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 10:  3,000/5,000 with a 5,000 ante
Entries:  95

Barry Hutter
Barry Hutter

Level 9 came to an end, and the players left for their 90-minute dinner break. Action is scheduled to resume around 8:03 pm EST.

A scan of the field during the break turned up three players with at least 600K in chips, creating an unofficial leaderboard:

1.  Barry Hutter  –  985,000  (197 bb)
2.  Ali Imsirovic  –  830,000  (166 bb)
3.  Raul Martinez  –  623,000  (125 bb)

The field is up to 95 entries, and registration remains open with unlimited re-entries until the end of the dinner break (around 8:03 pm).